Grad learns life skills through FFA

Alicia Klosterman stands with Wapakoneta High School Agriculture teacher Ron Brown while holding her first place award she received at the State FFA Convention for Agricultural Processing.

Alicia Klosterman may not be intending to apply skills that she learned in FFA to the farming industry itself. However, she considers everything she picked up as a member in the past four years as very important.
“FFA helped prepare me for life,” said the 18-year-old daughter of Linda and Tom Klosterman, who was awarded first in the state in FFA for agricultural processing.
“There is so much I can do now that I couldn’t do before,”
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Klosterman said.
Klosterman said woodworking and other skills will help her to do fix-it-up jobs around her home rather than forcing her to call a contractor. She also learned the importance of sometimes mundane paperwork.
“You have to keep record books,” Klosterman said. “You have to be sure your numbers match up.
Klosterman was able to apply the organizational skills she learned to her successful attempt at winning the state award. She won the award for her work and documentation of her experience from Walter & Sons Meats in Wapakoneta. While working there in swine processing, she had to document her work and her hours, which were submitted for consideration of the award. The candidates also took tests that measured their proficiency in each category.
A personal page about the candidate was also required among other things for consideration.
The award came as somewhat a surprise to Klosterman. When submitted on the district level in District 4, she came away with a second place finish before winning at the state level.
Klosterman, who lives at 12569 Burr Oak Road, now intends to attend James A. Rhodes State College and plans to pursue degrees in dental hygiene and business management.
“I haven’t decided specifically want I want to do yet,” Klosterman. “I am ready for college though. I have already attended some classes at Rhodes and it is a great place. If you have questions there is always someone available to answer them.”
Klosterman’s hobbies in her free time include horseback riding, hunting, camping and boating.